Armstrong, Lance, 1971–, American cyclist, b. Dallas, Tex. He won (1991) the U.S. amateur cycling championship, turned professional (1992), and by the mid-1990s had won the Tour DuPont twice and was being hailed as the finest U.S. cyclist. In 1996, however, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which had spread extensively. Given a 50% chance of survival, he underwent surgery and chemotherapy. In one of the more impressive comebacks in sports history, he returned (1998) to cycling and reached the pinnacle of the sport with seven consecutive victories (1999–2005) in the Tour de France, the sport's toughest and most prestigious race. He also won a bronze medal in the time trial at the 2000 Olympics. Accusations in 2005 that he had engaged in blood doping in 1999 were denied by Armstrong and disputed in 2006 by an International Cycling Union investigation, which found no evidence to support the charges. In 2006, however, two former teammates of Armstrong said that they had engaged in blood doping in 1999 but that they had not seen Armstrong engage in the practice.

Bibliography

See his memoirs, It's Not about the Bike: My Journey Back to Life (2000) and Every Second Counts (2003); D. Coyles, Lance Armstrong's War (2005).

Armstrong, Lance

(born Sept. 18, 1971, Plano, Texas, U.S.) American cyclist and the first rider to win seven Tour de France titles (1999–2005). Armstrong began his professional cycling career in 1992 when he joined the Motorola team. He won stages of the Tour de France in 1993 and 1995 but withdrew from three of four Tours he attempted from 1993 to 1996. After the 1996 Tour, Armstrong fell ill, suffering from testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain. Months of treatments followed before he could attempt his comeback. In 1998 he won the Tour of Luxembourg, and on July 25, 1999, he became the second American to win the Tour de France and the first to win it for an American team (three-time winner Greg LeMond had raced with European teams). In 2003 Armstrong won his fifth consecutive Tour de France, tying a record set by Miguel Indurain, and the following year he broke the record with his sixth consecutive win. After winning his seventh Tour in 2005, Armstrong announced his retirement.